Georgetown McDonough MBA Admissions Answers 5 Questions
In our latest installment of the MetroMBA “5 Questions” series, we speak with Shelly Heinrich, Associate Dean, MBA Admissions and Director of Marketing at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. She was kind enough to respond to our questions and share insight into what it’s like to attend McDonough for an MBA.
1. How does Georgetown McDonough help MBA students pursue their special interests?
Shelly Heinrich, Associate Dean, MBA Admissions and Director of Marketing
“One of the reasons Georgetown McDonough stands out is because our students have diverse industry interest areas. We are not a school that places half in consulting and half in finance. While these certainly are the largest areas our students pursue, close to 53 percent are seeking careers in the following industries: technology, consumer products, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, nonprofit/social impact, real estate, and government. Technology, in particular, is our third highest career placement industry.
Another way students can pursue special interests is with our customizable curriculum. After students in our full-time and Flex MBA complete their core, they can choose from over 100 electives and don’t have to declare a concentration. We believe this is key because every job requires people to wear multiple hats and have multiple skill sets. So, if we were a school that forced students into certain classes, they wouldn’t be able to build a skill set that addresses the multiple knowledge gaps they are seeking to fill.
Additionally, MBA students can leverage the rest of Georgetown University, taking up to 12 credit hours of electives at another Georgetown graduate program or even 6 of those 12 credit hours at partner institutions in the DC metro area.”
2. What makes Georgetown McDonough a special place for you?
Overlooking the Washington Monument, located just one mile away from the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business campus.
“I experienced what makes Georgetown McDonough special even prior to starting to work here over four years ago. I’ve been living in the DC area for over ten years now and have worked at four other business schools. Throughout my professional and personal life, anytime I engaged with someone who worked, taught, or went to school at Georgetown McDonough, their eyes lit up or ‘sparked’ when talking about their experience. They spoke about their time as if they wanted to be back on campus, reliving their experience. When I received the offer to work here, a former staff member of McDonough reached out to me with congratulations and encouragement and said, ‘I loved my time there. It’s such a special place, and you’re going to love it.’
From day one, I have understood the spark. We have a phenomenal community. Students are high caliber, love their community, and embody the Jesuit values of men and women in service to others. Faculty and staff are committed to the continued growth of the program, and the evidence of this is our continued rise in rankings, the profiles of our incoming students, and our employment results. Also, our alumni are committed to giving back and helping fellow Hoyas.
Four years later, I still love coming to work every day. The buzz and energy of the Hariri building is invigorating and I am always excited to celebrate the weekly or even daily accomplishments of our community.”
3. What does your ideal MBA candidate look like?
“Our ideal candidate has executive presence, grit, diverse personal and professional life experiences, a global mindset, and a generosity of spirit. We want students who will come to Georgetown McDonough and leave a mark, finding their niche in the student community and leaving a legacy that will be experienced by future cohorts and classes.
But, to answer the question that your readers are likely looking for, we certainly look for students with a class profile similar to our recent incoming class. These are students with a strong academic background, professional and personal experiences that can add value to the classroom conversation, and a strong commitment to understanding and appreciating a diverse classroom experience. Our incoming Full-time and Evening MBA class represented over 40 countries and 17 industry backgrounds. The ideal candidate comes in wanting to learn from all the various backgrounds of students.”
4. Are there any new program, centers, faculty members, or events you can talk about?
“The Flex MBA program—the next evolution of our Evening MBA—will start in fall 2019. This program retains the strong assets of our highly ranked part-time MBA program while infusing newly added areas of flexibility.
We will retain an identical curriculum and degree as our full-time MBA and access to the same cohort format. The new aspects of the program include a Saturday elective and hybrid elective options, in addition to the current evening elective offerings. Hybrid electives allow for a mix of on-campus and virtual sessions to provide flexibility to students who may travel for work or who need options to commute less to campus. Additionally, there will be additional opportunities to take our Intensive Learning Experiences, which are 1-2 week intense electives where you complete an entire elective on a host of special topics in a condensed amount of time. Finally, we’re now allowing students to transfer electives of graduate coursework if they have not been counted toward another graduate degree.
We’ve seen strong interest in this program and look forward to the inaugural cohort next fall.
We recently launched a new Certificate in Consumer Analytics and Insights that provides students the opportunity to understand how consumers make decisions via the analysis of consumer data. For students wanting to hone their analytic skills, this is a very relevant certificate. Additionally, the HoyAlytics, student data analytics club is celebrating its one-year anniversary and has provided students with workshops in such programs as Tableau, R, SAS, and Excel.
Working with others across the university, Georgetown McDonough has launched a program to transform the lives of a highly select group of District residents released from local correctional facilities who show strong potential to become successful leaders and role models in their communities.
Through a combination of education and partnership with local employers, the university’s new Pivot Program aims to prepare participants for positions as both entrepreneurial leaders and productive employees.
The Pivot Program represents a collaboration among Georgetown’s Prisons and Justice Initiative, Georgetown College, and the McDonough School of Business, with the support from the Mayor’s Office on Returning Citizen Affairs and a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development agency. In addition, the D.C. Department of Employment Services will provide stipends to our participants.
Georgetown designed the Pivot Program to break that cycle and recapture this untapped human capital. This transition program offers a non-credit-bearing certificate in business and entrepreneurship designed specifically for a cohort of up to 20 returning citizens, to be known as Pivot Fellows.”
5. What’s your favorite DC parade/event that every student should attend?
“I love the Embassy Open House Weekends in May; there are usually two consecutive weekends. Most embassies open their doors for a weekend of food, dancing, and cultural activities specific to their country. You can walk from embassy to embassy for an entire day of cultural immersion. It is something unique to D.C. that you wouldn’t get anywhere in the world. We have over 177 embassies in D.C. which is representative of what a global city we are.
Additionally, every student has to watch the 4th of July fireworks on the National Mall at least once while here. It is truly an U.S. American tradition and patriotic experience. Hot dogs, music, blankets, picnic baskets, and red, white, and blue.”
Gies Caterpillar Partnership Announced, and More – Chicago News
Let’s explore some of the most interesting stories that have emerged from Chicago business schools this week.
Government Got You Worried? It May Be Affecting Your Shopping Habits – Kellogg Insights
Northwestern Kellogg School of Management doctoral candidate Jessica Gamlin, along with professors of marketing Ping Dong and Aparna Labroo, found that “when consumers are thinking about politics, they are drawn to products they view as utilitarian rather than pleasurable.” In other words: “the more you fret about the state of the government, the more spartan your shopping cart might be.”
Speaking with Kellogg Insights, Gamlin explains her fascination with the dissonance between a seemingly banal meal-kit ad placed amidst a divisive political debate, “I was curious about why advertisers were choosing these different podcasts to advertise on in different quantities.”
Labroo also adds, “A desire for the government to do things in a more responsible manner translates into higher-order goals for the consumer, herself, to be responsible in her actions.”
Dong adds, “The reason is the more people think the political system is irresponsible, the more the desire to see the government be responsible is activated, and therefore, the more the consumer’s own goal is also activated.”
You can read more about the research here.
Caterpillar Invests in Students’ Futures with Illinois Business-Engineering Program – Gies College of Business News
As part of a decades-long relationship between the University of Illinois and the Peoria-based construction equipment manufacturer, Caterpillar has recently invested in the Gies College of Business and the College of Engineering’s new collaborative Hoeft Technology & Management undergraduate minor, in which “teams of business and engineering students learn and work together to develop comprehensive solutions to real-world problems.”
In the announcement, Caterpillar CTO and VP Tom Bluth says, “Becoming an affiliate of the program is a natural fit for us, because the intersection of business and engineering is at the core of how we develop the products and solutions that benefit our customers.
“We’re also proud to have been connected to the T&M Program since its start: A member of our Caterpillar family had the vision to create the program and the passion to make it possible.”
You can find out more about the Gies Caterpillar partnership here.
Six Marketing Fundamentals Founders Need to Succeed – Chicago Booth Magazine
Catherine Littell ’08
Chicago Booth Magazine recently profiled Catherine Littell (’08), whose Care Concierge LLC has taken an innovative approach to senior-care consulting. Littell, an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the James M. Kilts Center for Marketing, discussed her “multipoint approach to launching a business in the digital age.”
- Know your customer. “There are a lot of great ideas out there. But can you take that idea and create a product for the right customer at the right time?”
- Hone your message. “It’s really about understanding your customer and creating an authentic experience.”
- Let the data speak. “Data will tell you whatever you want it to, good or bad, so make sure you use it to inform rather than just to affirm your decisions.”
- Run the numbers. “Starting a business is about gut feelings, but knowing the numbers can help you figure out whether or not a business is profitable or can be profitable.”
- Be comfortable with change. “You’ve got to be able to trust your gut and say, ‘If it works, great, and if it doesn’t, let’s change tactics and move forward.’”
- Hire the right team. “If you find people who have drive and passion, plus they love your product and can define what you do and stand for, that’s really powerful.”
You can read the full article here.
Guide to MBA Internships in the Washington DC Metro
MBA internships can be just as important as a job for business school students. This makes a lot of sense — your mba internship will play a huge role in whatever job you end up landing post graduation. Continue reading…
Cranfield Co-Launches New Government Affairs Research Club
Cranfield School of Management and The Open University Business School are joining forces and exploring the challenges organisations face when dealing with government affairs – all with the launch of a specialist research club.
The Government Affairs Research Club (GARC) will develop thought leadership around business-government affairs and provide an opportunity for those responsible for relationships with government to meet and discuss the challenges they face and how these can be overcome.
Professor Paul Baines and Dr. Tazeeb Rajwani from Cranfield will be co-directors of the new club, along with Dr. Howard Viney and Professor Thomas Lawton from The Open University Business School.
Continue reading…
